Her accommodation was not of comparable quality to most other ocean liners however the demands of the passengers crossing from India to Malaya and back were not complicated; a few square feet of deck space was all that was expected.

War Record

The Rajula meanwhile was one of the first ships requisitioned at the time of the Munich crisis in September 1938 and became permanently a troop ship from May 1940.

In 1940 Rajula trooped mainly from Bombay to Suez.

From December 1941 Rajula carried Indian troops to Singapore for its defence returning on homeward voyages loaded with evacuees until the Island finally fell to the Japanese on the 15th February 1942.

In July 1942 Rajula carried the 6th Australian Division from Colombo to Australia for their redeployment to New Guinea.

She also attended the successful Allied landings at Syracuse, Augusta and Anzio in 1943. In 1944 she carried troops out and acting as an ambulance, wounded back at the Burma assaults.

The following year she trooped Calcutta to Malaysia and Rangoon for their reoccupation.

Post War

Rajula, after a refit in Great Britain returned to the Far East and her normal peacetime duties.

This brief visit to GB was her only return to the country of her building.

In 1955 along with all the other British India passenger ships her hull was painted white with a blank ribband and bunks were fitted for most of her Deck passengers.

Aged 35 Rajula was still considered sufficiently important to be sent to Japan, to the Mitsubishi yard in Kobe for an extensive overhaul in February 1962.

Rajula ran into a tropical cyclone on the 3rd November 1966 whilst on passage from Nagapatam to Madras.

She was driven for thirty miles along the coast in screaming winds and huge steep seas.

Rajula was eventually driven hard astern with her engines running full power.
Shemanaged to rescue herself from shipwreck by sailing at full speed backwards!

Sadly, seven other ships were not so fortuitous and were driven ashore and wrecked.

This dramatically further proved her amazing seaworthiness.

The following afternoon she berthed safely at Madras with little damage.

It is said, Rajula‘s Indian passengers were so relieved that they held a Thanksgiving Service on the jetty for their stately but dependable old Rajula.

As part of the Group rationalisation, the Rajula was transferred to the formal ownership of P&O Line on the 19th April 1973.

Although comparatively unknown outside Eastern waters no ship gave longer service to the British India Steam Navigation Company Ltd (British India Line) than the Rajula.

Few ships can have carried as many passengers safely over the oceans and few enjoyed greater affection and respect.

After a very worthwhile career in peace and war, and with an excellent reputation, just short of her 48th birthday, she was stripped of all her contents and fittings and delivered for breaking up at Bombay.

“The remarque on the print that I have with me now is very impressive ” – Mohamed Ashraf Mohamad Yoonus – 14.08.12

Machinery

Rajula was fitted with early examples of mechanical ventilation and enjoyed the then unheard of luxury of an engineer’s lift.

For working general cargo at either end of her route, and the onion cargoes which came on board from lighters in the roads at Negapatam, she had a powerful set of derricks plus a heavy lift derrick fitted to her foremast.

Rajula was an attractive looking ship with well-raked masts and funnel; the latter set off by a naval style cowl top.

Rajula‘s engines were built for reliability rather than latest developments in machinery so were reciprocating steam engines not steam turbines.

The steam ship Rajula had triple expansion machinery of a slightly higher power and correspondingly higher trials speed than her sister “Rhona“.

“I chanced upon your website through a Google search as I was trying tofind information on S. S. Rajula. I am an Assistant Curator of the IndianHeritage Centre (IHC) in Singapore. IHC is a government funded, small scale,museum standard heritage institution that will highlight the interactionsbetween South Asia and Southeast Asia, particularly Malaya-Singapore.Although my research into S. S. Rajula began as a professional pursuit, Ifound out soon enough that my maternal great grandfather, paternalgrandfather, my father, and his siblings had all traveled aboard S. S.Rajula. With such connections binding my personal history to this remarkablesteam ship, I wanted to possess a painting or a print of the ship. Thus thepurchase. Would have opted to get the bigger print, but alas, this is myvery first job and finances are tight. You website has been well puttogether in terms of providing a wealth of information and would certainlyresonate with those who had traveled aboard the ships and even thosegenuinely love maritime history“.

Prints

Each print of this Rajula edition, is individually made to order, a time limited edition, supervised and signed by the artist.

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